In contemplating the infinite topics available to devote our time to, we've decided to build an entire website devoted to the sole topic of Napster and it's corresponding technologies. Essentially, the website will be geared for the average citizen affected by such technology, since MOST don't understand the many ramifying aspects associated with this tool. When we initially perused over a list of project choices, we skipped over such topics as email correspondence, references to the AOL monopoly, etc; because we realized the higher percentages of the populace were nowadays more affected by such peer-to-peer technology as Napster. With the founder, Shawn Fanning, and those regulating the technology, battling lawsuits related to piracy and copyright violations, more and more citizens would be affected by this issue. Our main goals are to discuss in full the essence of peer-to-peer technology, mp3 technology, and the many legal issues concerning the existence of Napster and what it means for internet users of the 21st century.
What exactly is peer-to-peer technology and how does it affect the average citizen? Basically, peer-to-peer technology is client-based Internet software. The main premise behind it is that it facilitates an internet user's access to desired material. In Napster's case, the program allows computer users to swap music files with one another directly, without going through a centralized file server or middleman. Even if Napster is not here to stay, it is quite clear that peer-to-peer file sharing is. There are new, even more intractable sharing systems that allow files to be traded directly from PC to PC, without going through a single website like Napster's. These services are much harder to shut down because they have no centralized plugs to pull and no company officers to sue.
In Napster's case, peer-to-peer priming is done for the purpose of acquiring mp3 technology. Short for Isompeg Audio Layer-3, mp3's were developed by a German engineering firm in 1987. For a mere surface explanation, this technology made it possible to take songs from a CD and rip or convert them in to mp3 files, usually in violation of copyright. Essentially, this technology exists as a way of compressing CD-quality sound files. It is efficient because one can download or encode exactly what he/she wants with no need to obtain an entire CD of unwanted material. All the files are in digital format and small enough to be transported across the internet. With regard to versatility, because the mp3's format is so small, one can easily transport files to a portable player or rather copy converted (.wav) files to a CD.
The legal issues behind this highly controversial topic include copyright violation laws, the piracy of intellectual property, and the fear resulting from the drama with respect to other media type owners such as newspapers, film, etc. The lawsuit's details will be discussed in detail, but for a glazed-icing explanation, the contention is not that Napster is guilty of violating copyright itself but of contributing to and facilitating other people's infringement, otherwise known as tributary copyright infringement.
In Conclusion, the above-mentioned information will be put onto the website along with more details, supplemental information, and links to other very informative websites. We have not chosen Napster for Napster itself, but more as a medium of communicating to the average PC user exactly what this new wave of peer-to-peer technologies represents. What better example other than Napster? The many concerns, technological advancements, struggling lawyers, and more will be yielded in our web -page and will strive to capture the true nature of the technological age of information that our globalized society has generated.
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